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by Lawrence Kohl (Author)
Few brigades of the Civil War can boast of a record as distinguished as that of New York's 69th, yet it has never fully received the attention warranted by its record of military excellence, distinctive reputation, and the unusual perspective its members brought to the Civil War. In fact, the 69th was engaged in nearly every major action of the eastern theater; its military reputation was well deserved and its combat casualties, which are some of the highest of the war, are testimony to the soldiers' collective bravery and patriotism.
In his post as war correspondent for the New York Herald, Capt. David Power Conygham was required to be an eyewitness to the many battles on which he reported - some of the experiences he would later describe when writing the history of the Irish Brigade. Conygham's account of the Irish Brigade is one of the best - filled with vivid accounts of battle, wit and humor, and an appendix of scrupulously gathered biographical data on the men who served the unit.
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No Civil War unit had a more colorful or distinctive history than the Irish Brigade of the Army of the Potomac. Made up of thousands of Irish immigrants from New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, it charged into battle under green flags and was served by Catholic chaplains. The brigade was created and led by Thomas Francis Meagher, an Irish revolutionary who had been condemned by the British for his part in the Rising of 1848. Making his way to New York after escaping from a prison colony, he established himself as one of the chief spokesman of the Irish-American community. In 1861 he led his countrymen into the Union Army. Once there, they earned a reputation for dash and courage in the most celebrated battles of the eastern theater.
Author Biography
Lawrence Frederick Kohl is Associate Professor of History at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and series editor of the Irish in the Civil War.
